Eastern softball Coach Jane Worthington knows it's not going to be easy to win her second conference title in as many years, but with an excellent group of talent on this year's squad, the Colonels could be the first team to win consecutive OVC titles since 1999."It all depends on how bad the team wants to keep the championship here at Eastern," Worthington said. "The athletic ability is there, we're just a little short in numbers due to injuries, but in order to make up for our few numbers, we'll have to make it up in heart."
After winning the title last season, Eastern entered the 2005 season picked to win another title, but will have to do so without the presence of last season's OVC Player of the Year, Diana Barreras, and first team All-OVC pick, Kelli Bromley. Last season Barreras and Bromley led the Colonels with .330 and .356 batting averages, respectively.
"Last year if Dia could get us going, the team would follow, and we don't have that this year," Worthington said. "We don't have the little spark plug that's going to get us going, but Dia did a lot of things that set the tone for the game and got us going."
Sophomores
Although Eastern lost five seniors from last year's squad, the Colonels added three solid freshmen, to go along with some of the top sophomores in the conference.
"Our sophomores are going to be a big part of our team, but our freshmen are also a big part of our team," Worthington said. "We're really young; we're starting seven underclassmen."
Sophomore first baseman Adriel Foxley leads Eastern from the plate, as she recorded a .316 batting average last season and led the team with eight homeruns and 37 RBI's.
"Adriel is a big part of our team," Worthington said. "She brings a lot of power to the plate for us."
Also leading the way for Eastern's sophomore class is pitcher Kelsey Anderson. Anderson was tabbed as last season's OVC Newcomer of the Year, as she finished the season with an 18-9 record, with an ERA of 1.64.
"Kelsey is a little bit better than she was last year; we've added a couple of pitches, so hopefully its going to make her stronger than she was last year, and she was pretty darn good last year."
Eastern's offense will be boosted from senior infielder Jennifer Norris. Norris batted .329 last season, and finished with 30 RBI's.
"Jen Norris is a senior that is going to be an everyday player for us," Worthington said.
Last season Eastern finished with a 42-17 record, and wrapped up its season with a storybook ending, winning the conference title.
"We had a good season last year, and I think that it's going to be pretty darn tough to have a record as good as we did last year, because our schedule is pretty tough," Worthington said.
Schedule
In last season's championship run, the Colonels played a number of tough teams, but Worthington said this year's schedule is even stronger.
"Last season we had a tough schedule, but I think this one is a little tougher," Worthington said. "We play possibly six teams that went to the regionals last year."
Eastern plays softball powerhouses such as Michigan State, Central Michigan, Georgia Tech, Florida State, Louisville, Central Florida and Penn State.
Season outlook
Worthington said that this year's team is one of the best hitting teams that she's ever had, but she isn't sure how well the team will play on the other side of the ball, because bad weather has limited how much the team could get outside.
"We have quiet a few players that have the potential to go deep, and we have a good mix of speed," Worthington said. "We might make some errors early, but hopefully we'll be able to get that figured out before conference play."
Worthington said that injuries have plagued the Colonels so far this season, and currently there are only 13 healthy players on the team.
"Basically we are very, very thin," Worthington said. "We've got to stay healthy; I can't over practice them. They're going to have to be self-motivated because there is nobody behind them pushing for their spot."
Freshmen talents
After losing two of the top players in the conference, Worthington and the Colonels reloaded by bringing in three freshmen that are going to make an immediate impact on the team. Filling the gaps for Eastern in the infield will be freshmen Chanze Patterson and Katie Rolf.
"Chanze is going to be our second baseman. If anybody can be a sparkplug for us, its her," Worthington said. "Katie Rolf is going to be our shortstop. She's got an extremely strong arm and is capable of doing a good job for us."
Filling the hole in centerfield will be freshman Alex Merrell.
"Alex is extremely quick in centerfield," Worthington said. "All three of our freshman are very, very different. They bring different talents to the table."
With lots of young players on this year's team, Worthington is waiting to see which of her players are going to emerge as team leaders.
"It's probably going to take us a little bit longer to get going this year, because I don't think that we've figured out who our leaders are," Worthington said. "Until we get some practices and games under our belt, it's hard to tell who is going to step up."
Worthington is very optimistic about this year's team, but knows that its going to take a total team effort.
"It's going to be harder this year to win the conference than last year, and last year it was pretty darn tough, but this year the OVC is tougher than it was last year," Worthington said. "We need this year's freshman to step up and our sophomores to continue doing what there doing and we need our upperclassmen to continue to get better."
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